By COLlive reporter
A crowd of men, women and even Yeshiva bochurim participated in the levaya of Shaina Welner, a Lubavitch high school student, who passed away this past Shabbos after a battle with cancer.
Welner was the eldest of 6 children of R’ Yaakov and Rochel Welner, founders and the driving force behind Cheder Lubavitch Arizona in Phoenix. Shaina was one of the first students in the institution which today has over 100 pupils.
This past Thursday, Shaina celebrated her 16th birthday and used the occasion to launch a Mitzvah4Shaina campaign for people to do 1,600 good deeds in the merit of her recovery. The campaign quickly reached close to 8,000 Mitzvos.
Her passing on Shabbos day was receiving with immense sadness and left a profound void in the lives of family, friends, and the Jewish community in Phoenix and beyond.
The levaya began on Sunday, passing by Lubavitch World Headquarters – 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. It will continue in Arizona on Monday.
She is survived by her parents, R’ Yaakov and Rochel Welner; siblings Chaya, Leah, Tzippy, Yitzi, and Naomi; and grandparents Allen and Candy Welner – Scottsdale, Arizona, and Neil and Vivian Bernstein – New York.
Baruch Dayan Haemes.
So sad. Borukh dayan ho’emes. “Kol mahn d’ovid Rakhmonoh — l’tahv ovid.” “Whatever the Merciful One does — is for the best.”
I don’t know her but she looks so aidel and beautiful. It feels unfair that such a young soul be taken from her friends and family and the Jewish nation. I will do something extra in your memory tomorrow.